Seol Minsu arrived at the pojangmacha tent.
Laughter and loud chatter spilled out onto the street before he even stepped inside.
When he pushed the flap open, he saw his friends already gathered around a table filled with soju bottles and half-finished dishes.
Kim Hoon spotted him first and waved him over. "Over here!"
Heo Seong-pil, already tipsy, yelled loud enough for half the street to hear.
"Minsu! You're late again, man!"
Kim Hoon poured soju into an empty glass and handed it to him as he approached.
Seol Minsu took the glass and sat down among them. "Had things to do."
He downed the drink in one gulp.
Choi Seobin snorted. "Enough chitchat. Just drink."
He immediately refilled Minsu's now-empty glass.
The drinking continued for nearly an hour.
Seong-pil's face was already flushed red from the alcohol.
He leaned back lazily, grinning.
"Oh yeah, Minsu… we saw Hyorim earlier at the park."
Choi Seobin's head snapped toward him instantly.
He smacked his own forehead.
Didn't you say to let the kids be?
Seol Minsu calmly lifted his glass and took another drink.
"I know," he said evenly. Then he set the glass down. "Who was she with?"
Seong-pil seemed to sober up immediately, realizing what he had just said. He let out an awkward chuckle.
"Uh… yeah. She was with her friends."
Minsu stared at him silently.
The air around the table shifted.
The noise of the street outside suddenly felt distant compared to the tension settling over them.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Hyeyoung suddenly slammed her palm on the table.
"Forget that! We came here to get drunk!" she shouted. "Ahjussi! More soju over here!"
Seobin reached over and smacked the back of Seong-pil's head.
Seong-pil lowered his head, rubbing the spot while muttering under his breath, clearly regretting opening his mouth at all.
-
The next day, at Hong Aera's house.
She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, the TV playing in front of her.
But she wasn't really watching it.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen, staring blankly as her thoughts drifted back to yesterday.
Why was Giryang oppa with Seol Hyorim's group…?
And why did he ignore me?
If he came all the way to the school, why didn't he call or text me…?
Her mind felt restless, tangled in questions she couldn't answer.
Suddenly, a foot appeared right in front of her face.
"Move it, you damn brat," she muttered without even looking.
The foot wiggled closer, toes scrunching near her nose.
"Mwove iiit, yuh dwamn bwraaat~" a childish, mocking voice echoed.
Hong Aera slowly turned her head.
It was her older brother, Hong Aesol, a 20-year-old college student with way too much free time.
He chuckled mischievously. "I said if you bring me a Coke, I won't bother you. Go buy it now, hehe."
Without hesitation
Thud.
Aera kicked him straight in the face.
"I SAID MOVE, YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!"
"UGHK!" Aesol stumbled back, clutching his face, tears threatening to spill. "You little! Kicking your own brother in the face… Did Mom raise you like that?!"
"You seriously need a beating," she shot back flatly, grabbing her phone just as it dinged with a notification.
Her eyes widened slightly when she read the message.
In an instant, she stood up and rushed to her room.
After quickly fixing her hair and changing her top, she headed back toward the door.
Aesol, still rubbing his face, noticed her.
"Oh? Heading out to buy that Coke for your dear older brother, little sis?"
Hong Aera didn't even glance at him.
She simply raised her middle finger in his direction.
"Go eat a big, fat fuck you~" she stopped herself just short of finishing it out loud and slammed the door behind her.
Aesol stared at the closed door.
"…That's why you're single you brat," he muttered, still holding his face.
Hong Aera arrived at the karaoke place and stood outside the room for a moment.
She could already hear music and loud laughter from inside.
He's with his friends again…
She swallowed.
Still… I need to know why.
Slowly, she reached for the door handle and pushed it open.
Inside, Choi Giryang was standing near the screen, microphone in hand.
"You live for yourself and I'll somehow oh!"
He turned his head toward the door, the mic still close to his lips.
"You came? Sit over there, Aera."
Hong Aera stared at him.
As expected… he's really handsome.
Inside the room were Giryang's usual friends plus two unfamiliar faces.
A guy with glasses and a girl with exaggerated eyelashes sat at the left couch.
Jang Jihoon was there too, along with the noona from before sitting at the middle couch.
The noona glanced at Aera briefly.
She came again.
That bitch.
Aera stepped inside and looked around for a seat.
The only empty space was beside Jung Seung-hyun, who was sitting alone at the right couch.
She sat down stiffly.
Seung-hyun turned to her immediately, a strange blush creeping across his face.
"Hi… hehe. We meet again."
"Hello," Aera replied shortly.
Ugh. That perfume smell…
The girl with the exaggerated lashes leaned forward curiously.
"Hey, hey, who's she? She's pretty."
The guy with glasses snickered. "What, she doesn't even say hi to us? Lol."
Calm down, you greeting freaks…
Before Aera could respond, Seung-hyun spoke up in an oddly soft, almost affectionate voice.
"Oh, this is Aera. She's a year younger like a close little sister."
Hong Aera slowly turned to look at him.
Close…? Since when were we close?
More importantly was his voice always this cringey?
Seung-hyun puckered his lips as he took a sip of his drink, glancing at her sideways.
"You're drinking, right, Aera?"
She didn't even look at him. Her eyes were fixed on Choi Giryang.
"Ah… wait a sec," she called out. "Oppa! I have something to ask you…"
Giryang, still holding the mic to his mouth, waved lightly.
"Yeah, yeah, wait a sec, Aera. Let me finish this part!"
He pointed at the guy with glasses.
"Sing with me, Gitae! I'm struggling here, haha!"
"Okay!"
The music grew louder.
Hong Aera sat there, stunned.
Why did you even call me here…?
Aera tried several times to talk to Choi Giryang, but somehow he always managed to avoid her.
Whenever she stood up to approach him, someone would pull him into another song.
When she called his name, he would wave her off with a quick "later" and turn back to the screen.
This went on for hours.
At some point, Hong Aera found herself drinking along with the others.
Park Gitae's face was completely red from alcohol as he clung to the girl sitting next to him.
"Hey get a grip, Park Gitae!!" she laughed, patting his back.
"Heeeng… I'm dizzy…" he whined, swaying.
Jung Seung-hyun leaned closer to Aera, invading her space.
"Hey, Aera~ how tall are you? I like tall girls. They look like models."
Aera leaned her head slightly away from his closing face, her eyes still fixed on Giryang's back.
"150 cm," she replied flatly. "It's an illusion. An illusion."
Across the room, the noona rested her head on Jang Jihoon's shoulder, hugging his arm while watching Aera and Seung-hyun.
"Babe, she's not getting drunk today? Lol. She was all flirty with Choi Giryang earlier though."
Jihoon glanced at her, a cigarette resting between his lips.
"She was just pretending to be drunk. Isn't it obvious?"
Seung-hyun grabbed a potato chip from the table and held it up near Aera's mouth, clearly intending to feed her.
"You shouldn't drink without snacks, you know? Hehe. Ahh~"
Aera finally looked at him.
Her face was slightly red from the alcohol.
Without a word, she took the chip from his fingers herself and bit into it, then turned her gaze right back to Giryang.
This butter-smooth guy keeps acting all friendly…
Just hurry up, get drunk, and pass out already.
Her eyes remained locked on Giryang's back as he continued singing like nothing was wrong.
I came here to talk to Giryang oppa.
Why does he keep turning his back on me…?